ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Agriculture &
Farmers Welfare
Increasing Production of Organic Fertilizers
Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar today informed that the government is implementing dedicated schemes for the promotion of organic farming in the country viz. Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana  and Mission Organic Value Chain Development in North East Region  since 2015-16.
Shri Tomar laid a Statement on the table of the Rajya Sabha in reply to a question on increasing the production of organic fertilizers and promotion of organic farming. He said, under these schemes, farmers are primarily encouraged to take up organic cultivation using organic inputs including organic fertilizers and the schemes provide end to end support to farmers i.e. from production to marketing of organic produce.
Shri Tomar informed that hands-on training to farmers about on-farm production of organic fertilizers and its use are integral part of these schemes.
Shri Tomar said that farmers are provided a subsidy of Rs 31000/ ha / 3 years under PKVY and 32500/ ha/ 3 years under MOVCDNER for various organic inputs and an amount of Rs 667.34 crores has been earmarked for promotion of organic farming for the year 2022-23.
Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs 
Cabinet approves assistance of about Rs. 3,500 crore for sugarcane farmers 
This assistance would be directly credited into farmers’ accounts
Decision will benefit the five crore sugarcane farmers  and their dependents, as well as the five lakh workers employed in the sugar mills and related ancillary activities
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved assistance of about Rs. 3,500 crore for sugarcane farmers .
Currently, there are close to five crore sugarcane farmers  and their dependents in India. In addition to this, there are about five lakh workers employed in the sugar mills and ancillary activities; and their livelihood depends on the sugar industry.
Farmers sell their sugarcane to the sugar mills, however the farmers are not getting their dues from the sugar mill owners as they have surplus sugar stock. To address this concern, the Government is facilitating the evacuation of surplus sugar stock. This will enable payment of dues of the sugarcane farmers. Government will incur about Rs. 3,500 crore for this purpose, and this assistance would be directly credited into farmers’ accounts on behalf of sugar mills against cane price dues and subsequent balance, if any, would be credited to mill’s account.
This subsidy aims at covering expenses on marketing costs including handling, upgrading and other processing costs and costs of international and internal transport and freight charges on export of upto 60 LMT of sugar limited to Maximum Admissible Export Quota  allocated to sugar mills for sugar season 2020-21
This decision will benefit the five crore sugarcane farmers and their dependents, as well as the five lakh workers employed in the sugar mills and related ancillary activities.
Prime Minister's Office
PM greets people on Vishwakarma Jayanti
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has greeted the people on the occasion of Vishwakarma Jayanti. He also saluted all the craftsmen and creators who are taking innovation in the society forward with their dedication, talent and hard work.
In a X post, the Prime Minister said;
“भगवान विश्वकर्मा की जयंती पर अपने सभी परिवारजनों को बहुत-बहुत बधाई। इस अवसर पर अपनी लगन, प्रतिभा और परिश्रम से समाज में नवनिर्माण को आगे ले जाने वाले सभी शिल्पकारों और रचनाकारों का हृदय से वंदन करता हूं।”
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions
Union Minister Dr.Jitendra Singh, to address a workshop tomorrow on Good Governance Practices in a Pandemic for District Collectors of Aspirational Districts
The One Day Workshop on COVID-19 is jointly organized by the National Centre for Good Governance , Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances and National Institute for Transforming India 
Union Minister of State for Personnel, PG and PensionsDr.Jitendra Singhwill deliver the valedictory address at the NCGG-NITI one-day Workshop on COVID-19 – Good Governance Practices in Aspirational Districts a Pandemic through a webinar on September 4, 2020. The one-day conference includes chairmen and speakers from the Ministries/ Departments of Government of India, State Governments and District Collectors. The participants of the workshop comprise of Senior Officers of DARPG, NITI, Central Ministries, Senior Civil Servants of Government of India serving as Central Prabhari Officers under the Aspirational Districts Program, Senior Officials from State Governments, District Collectors and District Level Officers handling the Aspirational Districts Program. In the valedictory session Shri Amitabh Kanth CEO NITI Aayog, Government of India and Dr.K.Shivaji Secretary DARPG and DPPW will address the delegates. This Workshop was jointly conceptualized by the National Centre for Good Governance, Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances and NITI with the objective of knowledge dissemination of district level good governance practices in fighting the COVID - 19 pandemic.
The technical sessions, would cover Best Practices in Health Sector Governance, e-governance, Agriculture and Water Resource Management, North Eastern States and Educational Governance. The session chairs include Shri Indevar Pandey, Special Secretary DONER, Shri Anil Swarup, former Secretary Education and Literacy, Smt. Shalini Rajneesh, Additional Chief Secretary Government of Karnataka, Shri Bharat Lal Additional Secretary  Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Ministry of Jal Shakti and Dr. Santosh Mishra CEO, Tamil Nadu e-Governance Authority and Commissioner e-Governance. 20 District Collectors of the Aspirational Districts will be making presentation in the technical sessions.
Shri V. Srinivas, Additional Secretary, DARPG and Director General, National Centre for Good Governance said that this will be the 3rd virtual workshop that the NCGG will be hosting on the subject, and the 1st workshop in the series with a domestic focus with an expected attendance of 500 officials. The first ITEC-NCGG workshop on Good Governance Practices in a Pandemic was attended by 162 Civil Servants from 19 countries of Asia, the 2nd ITEC-NCGG workshop on Good Governance Practices in a Pandemic was attended by 266 Civil Servants from Africa and India.
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Ministry of Science & Technology
Cabinet approves MoU between India and UK on Cancer Research Initiative
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the Memorandum of Understanding  between India and U.K. on Cancer Research Initiative. The MoU was signed on 14th November 2018.
Details:
The India-UK Cancer Research Initiative will identify a core set of research challenges that address issues of affordability, prevention and care of cancer by bringing together leading Indian and UK experts across clinical research, demographic research, new technologies and physical sciences. The initiative will provide funding to develop new research alliances and undertake impactful research to enable significant progress against cancer outcomes.
Funding pattern:
Over 5 years, the total research funding for the Initiative shall be £10 million . CRUK's share for such funding shall be £5 million . DBT shall match such funding by £5 million . The matching funds will be as per prevailing rates at the beginning of financial year.
Impact:
Despite the surge in technological, biomedical, clinical, and pharmaceutical innovations aimed at improving cancer outcomes, the overburdened healthcare systems across the globe remain ill equipped to meet the massive burden of escalating cancer care costs. The India-UK Cancer Research Initiative sets forth a roadmap for catalysing collaborations that align the best researchers, scientists, healthcare organizations and institutions to a multi-disciplinary research platform leading to high value, low cost outcomes for cancer care. Through this initiative the number of positions for doctoral-level, post-doctoral level researchers and early career scientists are expected to grow. They will not only be trained in cutting technology but will also be trained in essential leadership and project management skills which would help them in securing tenure-track research positions in academia or in related bio-pharma industry.
Background:
The India-UK Cancer Research Initiative is a collaborative 5-year bilateral research initiative by the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science & Technology, India and Cancer Research UK  that will focus on affordable approaches to cancer. Both CRUK and DBT will invest £5 million  each in this 5-year pilot, and seek further investment from other potential funding partners. This is a follow up of the joint statement issued by the two Prime Ministers during the visit of Prime Minister of India; Shri Narendra Modi to UK on April 18, 2018, which states the following:
"As thriving democracies, we share a desire to work closely together and with all who share our objective to support a rules-based international order that upholds agreed international norms, global peace and stability. Together the UK and India are a forcefor good in an uncertain world. We are sharing our experience and knowledge to tackle global challenges. India's Department of Biotechnology  and Cancer Research UK propose to launch a £10 million  bilateral research initiative which will focus on low cost approaches to cancer treatment."
Prime Minister's Office
PM speaks about the developmental works in Arunachal Pradesh
Responding to the tweet by Union Home Minister, Shri Amit Shah about developmental works in Arunachal Pradesh, PM tweeted;
“These development works will improve quality of life for people living in remote parts of Arunachal Pradesh.”
In a tweet Union Home Minister, Shri Amit Shah informed that he has launched 9 mini-micro hydroelectric projects along with a plethora of schemes initiated by ITBP at Kibithoo. He has also attended an exhibition held by women-led SHGs.
The Prime Minister tweeted;
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
Government chalking out a plan for up gradation and expansion of Zoos across the country in PPP mode: Shri Prakash Javadekar
Marking the celebration of Wildlife Week 2020 Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri Prakash Javadekar today congratulated the country for the diverse wildlife and said that the government is working towards the upgradation and development of 160 Zoos in Public Private Partnership  across the country to encourage interaction between wildlife and humans, and help people observe and understand wildlife behaviour more closely.
The Union Minister informed that policy for up gradation and development of all the zoos in the country is underway and will be taken up during the upcoming budget. Shri Javadekar further said that state governments, corporations, businesses and people will all be key elements of the plan. It will help give enhanced experience to the visitors especially the students and children and the future generation in order to nurture the connect between wildlife, nature and humans.
On the occasion Shri Javadekar also launched a report of the CZA-TERI titled “Economic valuation of ecosystem services, National Zoological Park, New Delhi ‘.The report highlights the importance of habitats such as zoos to human wellbeing and the need of replication across India.
The study first of its kind in India and perhaps the entire World, pegs the total annual economic value of the ecosystem services  at around 423 crore  whereas, the total value of the one-time cost of services such as carbon storage and land value provided by the zoo is estimated to be around 55,000 crore. 
The Minister also gave away the CZA-Prani Mitra awards to encourage the zoo officers and staff towards working for captive animal management and welfare. The awards were given in four categories viz. the Outstanding Director / Curator, Outstanding Veterinarian, Outstanding Biologist /Educationist, Outstanding Biologist /Educationist and Outstanding Animal keeper.
The Minister, during the virtual interaction, also addressed questions of school children from across the country, concerning wildlife protection and human-wildlife interaction. He stated that we must all work together to protect the valuable wildlife of the country.
CZA which was established to oversee the functioning of Indian zoos and complement the wildlife conservation strategies through ex-situ measures, as on today recognizes around 160 zoo and rescue centers that enforce global standards in animal housing and welfare. Over 567 captive animal species  with overall 56481 individual animals are currently housed in Indian zoos.
Dr. Sanjay Kumar, DG &Special Secretary, Ministry of Environment Forest &Climate Change; Shri Soumitra Dasgupta, ADG , Dr SP Yadav, ADG  and Member Secretary CZA and other senior officers of MoEF&CC also participated in the event.
Prime Minister's Office
PM to participate in a programme commemorating Sri Aurobindo’s 150th birth anniversary on 13th December
PM to release commemorative coin and postal stamp in honour of Sri Aurobindo on the occasion
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will participate in a programme commemorating Sri Aurobindo’s 150th birth anniversary, on 13th December, 2022 at 5 PM via video conferencing. The programme, being held in Kamban Kalai Sangam, Puducherry, under the aegis of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, will witness the Prime Minister releasing a commemorative coin and postal stamp in honour of Sri Aurobindo. He will also address the gathering on the occasion, which will include followers of Sri Aurobindo from across the country.
Sri Aurobindo, born on 15th August 1872, was a visionary who made lasting contributions to India's freedom struggle. Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav - an endeavour to celebrate the glorious history of India's people, culture and achievements on the occasion of 75 years of independence - is commemorating Sri Aurobindo’s 150th birth anniversary by organising year long activities and programmes across the country.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
India’s COVID19 Vaccination Coverage increases to 33.57 cr
With 48,786 New Cases reported in the last 24 hours, less than 50,000 Daily New Cases reported for four continuous days now
India's Active Caseload  constitute only 1.72% of Total Cases
Daily Positivity Rate  less than 5% for 24 consecutive days
India’s cumulative vaccination coverage exceeded 33.57 crore yesterday. A total of 33,57,16,019vaccine doses have been administered through 44,75,791 sessions, as per the provisional report till 7 am today. 27,60,345 vaccine doses were administered in the last 24 hours.
These include:
|
|
HCWs
|
|
1st Dose
|
|
1,02,12,078
|
|
2nd Dose
|
|
72,56,031
|
|
FLWs
|
|
1st Dose
|
|
1,75,12,765
|
|
2nd Dose
|
|
95,16,814
|
|
Age Group 18-44 years
|
|
1st Dose
|
|
9,16,00,418
|
|
2nd Dose
|
|
21,82,234
|
|
Age Group 45-59 years
|
|
1st Dose
|
|
8,86,47,056
|
|
2nd Dose
|
|
1,63,14,943
|
|
Over 60 years
|
|
1st Dose
|
|
6,81,27,563
|
|
2nd Dose
|
|
2,43,46,117
|
|
Total
|
|
33,57,16,019
The new phase of universalization of COVID19 vaccination commenced from 21 June, 2021. The Union Government is committed to accelerating the pace and expanding the scope of COVID19 vaccination throughout the country.
India has reported 48,786 new cases in the last 24 hours.
Less than 50,000 Daily New Cases have been reported since four continuous days. This is a result of sustained and collaborative efforts by the Centre and the States/UTs.
India has also been witnessing a continuous fall in the active caseload. The country’s Active Caseload today stands at 5,23,257 today.
A net decline of 13,807is witnessed in the last 24 hours and active cases are now only 1.72% of the country's total Positive Cases.
As more people are getting recovered from COVID-19 infection, India’s Daily Recoveries continue to outnumber the Daily New Cases for 49 consecutive days now. 61,588recoveries were registered in the last 24 hours.
More than 12,000  recoveries were reported during the last 24 hours as compared to the daily new cases.
Out of the people infected since the beginning of the pandemic, 2,94,88,918people have already recovered from COVID-19 and61,588patients have recovered in the last 24 hours. This constitutes an overall recovery rate of 96.97%, which is showing a sustained increasing trend.
With substantially ramped up testing capacity across the country, a total of 19,21,450tests were conducted in the last 24 hours in the country. Cumulatively, India has conducted over 41.20 crore  tests so far.
While on one side testing capacity has been enhanced across the country, a continued decline in weekly case positivity is noticed. Weekly Positivity Rate is currently at 2.64% while the Daily Positivity rate stands at 2.54% today. It has remained less than 5% for 24 consecutive days now.
Ministry of Earth Sciences
The Northern Limit of Monsoon  continues to pass through Diu, Surat, Nandurbar, Bhopal, Nowgong, Hamirpur, Barabanki, Bareilly, Saharanpur, Ambala & Amritsar
Due to approaching of westerlies winds further progress of monsoon over remaining parts of northwest India is likely to be slow
According to the National Weather Forecasting Centre of the India Meteorological Department :
(Monday 14 June 2021, EVENING; Time of Issue: 1630 hours IST
ALL INDIA WEATHER SUMMARY AND FORECAST BULLETIN
- The Northern Limit of Monsoon  continues to pass through lat. 20.5°N/ Long. 60°E, Diu, Surat, Nandurbar, Bhopal, Nowgong, Hamirpur, Barabanki, Bareilly, Saharanpur, Ambala and Amritsar.
- Due to approaching of mid-latitude westerlies winds further progress of monsoon over remaining parts of northwest India is likely to be slow. The progress of monsoon is being monitored continuously and further update will be provided on daily basis.
- The Low Pressure Area lies over south Jharkhand & neighbourhood with the associated cyclonic circulation extending upto mid-tropospheric levels tilting southwestwards with height. It is likely to move west-northwestwards. A trough runs from west Rajasthan to northeast Bay of Bengal in lower tropospheric levels and another trough runs from East central Arabian Sea to south Konkan in mid tropospheric levels. An off shore trough at mean sea level runs from south Maharashtra coast to north Kerala coast.
- Under the influence of above systems:
- Fairly widespread to widespread rainfall with isolated thunderstorm & lightning over most parts of East, Central & Northeast India during next 4-5 days. Isolated heavy rainfall over the region during next 4 days and isolated extremely heavy falls also very likely over Bihar on 15th June.
- Widespread rainfall with isolated heavy to very heavy falls, thunderstorm & lightning very likely over Konkan & Goa, Karnataka and Kerala & Mahe during next 4 days. Isolated extremely heavy falls also very likely over Konkan & Goa and Coastal Karnataka on 14th & 15th June.
- Scattered to fairly widespread rainfall with isolated thunderstorm & lightning over most parts of Northwest India during next 3 days and decrease in rainfall activity thereafter except East Uttar Pradesh where fairly widespread rainfall is likely to continue. Isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall over East Uttar Pradesh during next 5 days and extremely heavy rainfall also very likely over East Uttar Pradesh on 15th June.
- Moderate to severe thunderstorms accompanied by frequent cloud to ground lightning and strong gusty winds very likely over Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar on 14th & 15th; over Jharkhand on 14th; over Punjab and Haryana on 15th June. This may cause injuries leading to casualties to people and animals staying outdoors.

Kindly download MAUSAM APP for location specific forecast & warning, MEGHDOOT APP for Agromet advisory and DAMINI APP for Lightning Warning & visit state MC/RMC websites for district wise warning.
President's Secretariat
Press Communique
At a ceremony held today  at 0930 hrs in the Durbar Hall, Rashtrapati Bhavan, Shri Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde was sworn in as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India. He made and subscribed to the oath of office before the President.
Prime Minister's Office
PM to flag off 100th Kisan Rail on 28 December
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will flag off the 100th Kisan Rail from Sangola in Maharashtra to Shalimar in West Bengal on 28th December 2020 at 4:30 PM via video conferencing. Union Ministers Shri Narendra Singh Tomar and Shri Piyush Goyal will also be present on the occasion.
The multi-commodity train service will carry vegetables such as cauliflower, capsicum, cabbage, drumsticks, chillies, onion, as well as fruits like grapes, oranges, pomegranate, banana, custard apple etc. Loading and unloading of perishable commodities will be permitted at all enroute stoppages with no bar on size of consignment. The Government of India has extended a subsidy of 50% on transportation of fruits and vegetables.
About Kisan Rail
The first Kisan Rail was introduced from Devlali to Danapur on 7th August, 2020, which was further extended upto Muzaffarpur. As a result of good response from the farmers, its frequency was also increased from weekly to three days in a week.
Kisan Rail has been a game changer in ensuring fast transportation of agriculture produce across the nation. It provides a seamless supply chain of perishable produce.
Ministry of Home Affairs
Funds for Modernisation of State Police Forces
‘Police’ and ‘Public Order’ are State subjects as per the seventh Schedule of the Constitution. However, the efforts of the States for equipping and modernizing their police forces have been supplemented by the Government of India through financial assistance under the scheme of “Assistance to States for Modernization of Police ”.
Under the scheme, the State Governments are provided central assistance for acquisition of latest weaponry, training gadgets, advanced communication / forensic equipment, cyber policing equipment etc.
Further, ‘construction’ and ‘purchase of operational vehicles’ are permitted in the insurgency affected north-eastern States and left wing extremism affected districts. As such, under the scheme, financial assistance is provided for development of infrastructure and acquisition of equipment. Every year, States formulate their State Action Plans as per their requirements and strategic priorities.
In case of all the States, including West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh, funds are released on the basis of utilization certificates furnished by the States in respect of funds released to them during the previous years. The office of Comptroller and Auditor General  regularly audits expenditure under the Scheme. In addition, the Ministry of Home Affairs conducts Concurrent Audit of the Scheme and release of funds has been linked with submission of Action Taken Report  on the observations of audit reports by the State Governments. Performance of the scheme is evaluated from time to time and several studies have been conducted including Impact Assessment study of MPF scheme conducted by Bureau of Police Research and Development , an Evaluation Study of MPF scheme conducted by Bureau of Police Research and Development  and evaluation study commissioned by Niti Aayog in respect of the schemes under the umbrella scheme of Modernisation of Police Forces .
The financial details under ASMP Scheme during the past 5 years and the current year is as below:

|
|
Year
|
|
Allocation
|
|
Release
|
|
2015-16
|
|
662.11
|
|
662.11
|
|
2016-17
|
|
595.00
|
|
594.02
|
|
2017-18
|
|
769.00 452.10 
|
|
451.68
|
|
2018-19
|
|
769.00
|
|
768.83
|
|
2019-20
|
|
811.30  791.30
|
|
781.12
|
|
2020-21
|
|
770.76  73.27|
|
49.75Funds against allocations of most of the States could not be released as they have substantial unspent balances out of previous year releases.
This was stated by the Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri G. Kishan Reddy in a written reply to question in the Rajya Sabha today.